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So it's generally agreed upon that there's Platinum Age of Comics (pre-Action Comics #1), Golden Age of Comics (Action #1 through Showcase #4). Silver Age of Comics through as early as 1970, to as late as Amazing Spider-man #121. Bronze Age of Comics through 1985/1986. And the Modern Age of Comics from the end of the Bronze Age through now.

The thing is that every previous age of comics has been less than 20 years. Golden Age 18 years, Silver Age 14 years, Bronze Age 16 years, Modern Age 33 years (and counting).

So maybe it's time to break up the Modern era into two or more eras.

We could look at the X-Men movie in 2000 and have the modern era end and start with the movie era in that era. Though we'd be pushing 20 years on that, so maybe we could look ahead a few years in the future if comic book movies start to decline and consider a post-movie era.

We could break things down a little bit further and focus a little bit on Marvel. Call 1986-1996 (ending with the great comic book crash of 1996 and Marvel's bankruptcy) the Boom era (okay, that name sucks), have the movie era start in 2008 with the MCU and Iron Man, and have the era between 1996 and 2008 be the modern era.

I know I've seen a few other lists breaking eras down into further ones, such as Platinum, Golden, Atomic, Silver, Bronze, Dark/Copper, Modern, but everything I've seen always ends up with Modern just beginning in the 80's or early 90's and coming through the current day.

So, any thoughts?

The Gimmick Era?
Speculator Era?
Beginning of the End?
Variant Era?
#0 Era?

Does Bronze Age end before or with DKR and Watchmen?

Ending the next age in the late 90s makes for a VERY short Age, but maybe that's appropriate.


I'm trying to think about when Image's renaissance was away from its roots and into the endless revolving door of non-super-hero creator-owned mini-series. And whether or not that ties into (give or take a couple years) Marvel and DC constantly rebooting every title every year or two.

Or perhaps the major shift away from artists driving sales to writers driving sales in spite of $#*! art.

Or maybe this is all the same thing.


Also, I'd say NOW (and the last 10 years or so) is the Variant Age. There are FAR more variants now than there ever were in the 90s. No series from the top 5 publishers had variants on EVERY issue, let alone most series.

So maybe we go from a combo "Darkness to Renaissance Age" from 1986-2005/6 and then the "Variant Age" is 2005/6 until now.

Or the "Acquisition Age" with Disney acquiring Marvel in 2009, Star Wars in 2012, and Fox in 2019 and the fundamental shift that created in geek-centric entertainment.

My facetious answer to your question: "Is it time for another age of comics? " is yes, absolutely. Maybe it could be called The Return To the Good Old Days Age and we could somehow convince creators to go back to making fun comics that are entertaining, sometimes educational, non-beating-you-over-the-head-with-PC/SJW, one cover per issue, with storylines that go somewhere and in-house continuity that doesn't reboot, reset or rebirth every 18 months. Talking mainly to The Big 2 here.

Since that's not likely...

It has been a long time since the Bronze Age. Right now eBay has the Copper Age from 1984-1991 which is only 8 years. If we're going to stick with precious metals (my precioussss...) then what would be after Copper? Nickle perhaps? Tin? Aluminum?

Maybe because of the time we are in right now it could be the Plastic Age or even the Bitcoin Age.

Social Media Age?

How about the Adamantium age and the Vibranium age?

Good topic as always, Howie. I've been giving this some thought all day at work, so here are my three cent's worth.

First of all, I've only started to recognize that there is such a thing as the Atomic Age and Copper Age for the last five years or so. I know--I'm stubborn, and don't like revisionist thinking. With that being said, I still believe the Bronze Age ended in 1979. That's they way it was when I was younger, and that's the way it stays as far as I'm concerned.

I would argue that the Copper Age runs from 1980 to 1986. Short, but sweet. My thinking is that the early to mid-eighties was a time of growth for the industry, both creatively and financially. DC was coming out of their implosion of the late seventies, and Marvel had a heavy hand with Jim Shooter that was forging the company into more ambitious directions. On the independent side, books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were also taking off. The high point was 1986, which many still call the best year in comics (for reasons I probably don't need to explain here--unless you want me to). It was all downhill after that, which leads me to the next Age....

1987-1999. Not sure what to call this. Boom & Bust Age? As far as I'm concerned, the groundwork that led to the comics industry collapsing in the nineties started in 1987, specifically with Jim Shooter being replaced with Tom DeFalco at Marvel. While Jim Shooter pioneered the crossover event at Marvel (with each experiment getting a little bit bigger than the last), it seems Tom DeFalco took it to a whole 'nother level. He started small with some X-Men crossover events that barely affected other books (Mutant Massacre & Fall of the Mutants), but soon made sure that all other Marvel titles would get involved (Inferno, Acts of Vengeance). He also began producing hefty, expensive (for the time) annuals that were always part of a bigger story to buy (collect them all!). It should also be noted that DeFalco began the practice of the gimmick cover with Silver Surfer #50, I believe. These are all things that ultimately contributed to the alienation of fans and the collapse of the market.

2000-2010. I would begin the next age at the year 2000. First, it's a nice round number . Secondly, this was the year the comics industry started to turn around. I've talked to a lot of shop owners and have asked them when it was that Marvel started to make the turn after their bankruptcy. Most of them tell me it started when Marvel started hiring outside-of-the-box talent for their books, like Brian Bendis and J. Michael Straczynski. Ultimate Spider-Man debuted in 2000, and was so popular that the Ultimate line was once considered to replace the entire mainline Marvel Universe. The year 2000 is also when the first X-Men film hit the big screen, which gave a boost to comics in general, and led to the comic book driven movie industry we have today. Also, love it or hate it, but CGC formed in 2000 and began slabbing books. All would agree that CGC was a significant shot in the arm to the back issue market.

2011-Present. I wouldn't mind saying that our current comic era is still going on since 2000, but I agree that 19+ years is a bit long for one age. It was also mentioned by Swifty that the Variant Age is something we have never seen before in comics. While Marvel and DC did do variants prior to 2011, it really seemed to take off with the New 52, with seemingly almost every single New 52 issue getting a variant cover or three or four (plus reprints). The New 52 also was a creative change at DC, with them dumping all their previous comic history (for the time being). The New 52 was a success, and seems to me to have paved the way for Marvel to do similar reboots and restarts. It's a trend that continues with both companies, and it seems to have started in earnest in 2011.

Anyway. That's what I was thinking.

Thanks Corey, but I can't take credit for starting this thread. It was actually Chris.

It is a great topic! Love your thoughts on the subject.

I stand corrected! Many apologies to Chris. I meant no offense or insult in mistaking you for Howie!

I thought it was more of a compliment...

Platinum Age (1897-1937) [41 years]

Golden Age (1938-1955) [18 years]

Silver Age (1956-1969) [14 years]

Bronze Age (1970-1985) [16 years]

Copper Age (1986-1999) [14 years] *

Modern Age (2000-present) **


* Includes Watchmen and DKR and their ramifications for a generation until the reasons Corey noted that kicked off the current Modern Age in 2000


** It's still the Modern Age as it seems we can't really identify an Age's end until we are a full Age/generation removed. So, we may still 5-15 years away from defining when the post-Copper Age (Tin ?) ends.

I like this. I can get on board with this. Even if it might give me a headache thinking that nineties books are Copper Age.

Lead?